Hot Soup for a Cold Day
Christmas is almost here, and I still haven’t seen a good snow. I am beginning to think that a white Christmas is just not in the cards this year. I would love to see a little snow for the holidays, but so far all we have been getting is rain. A lot of rain. Three days of nothing but rain. I’m not going to let the weather get me down, though. As a matter of fact, I have a sure fire cure for a bout of those winter weather blues. It’s really quite simple, it’s homemade soup!
There is just something about a bowl of warm soup on a cold and dreary day that feels so good and comforting. On weeks like this, someone in my family is sure to say, “It looks like soup weather is here again.” Then it is time to get out the big soup pot and go to work. Sometimes I make vegetable soup, sometimes it’s chili, but this week I tried something new. It is called Nutty Sweet Potato Soup and it is really delicious. The nutty part comes from 2/3 cup of peanut butter. It also has a little cayenne pepper and some ginger which add a hint of warmth without being too spicy. As I made this soup, I had to think about George Washington Carver. After all, his two passions in life were peanuts and sweet potatoes. I’m sure he would have liked this recipe, and I think you will too.
P.S. One more great thing about soups…they are super fast to make. This only takes 30 minutes! Bon Appetit!
Nutty Sweet Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 large onion, diced (about 2 cups)
- 1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced (about 1 cup)
- 2 medium carrots, diced (about 1 cup)
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (optional)
- 1 clove garlic, minced (about 1 teaspoon)
- 1 teaspoon peeled and grated fresh ginger
- 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed (2 cups)
- 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can no salt added diced tomatoes, with their juices
- 2/3 cup creamy natural peanut butter
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1/2 cup chopped scallion greens (about 3 scallions)
Directions:
Heat the oil in a large soup pot over a medium-high heat. Add the onions, bell pepper and carrots and cook, stirring until the vegetables soften, about 5 minutes. Add the cayenne, black pepper, garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute more. Stir in the sweet potato, broth, and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.
Puree the soup in the pot using an immersion blender or in a regular blender in 2 batches and return the soup to the pot. Add the peanut butter and honey and stir, over low heat, until the peanut butter melts. Serve warm, garnished with the scallions.
When blending hot liquids: Remove liquid from the heat and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes. Transfer liquid to a blender or food processor and fill it no more than halfway. If using a blender, release one corner of the lid. This prevents the vacuum effect that creates heat explosions. Place a towel over the top of the machine, pulse a few times then process on high speed until smooth.